Fast-Tracked Failure: The Hyatt Regency Walkway Collapse

The How & Why of The Hyatt Regency Walkway Collapse, a preventable tragedy that took place Friday July 17, 1981 in Kansas City, Missouri, was a disaster that, to this day, demonstrates the deadly consequences of shortcuts, urgency and lack of quality control in design and engineering.
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[@BrickImmortar]

Thanks for watching and hope you're having a good weekend! Toss a Coin To Your Researcher? Wanna get caught up on The COLLAPSE Series? Patreon Supporters now get access to the entire COLLAPSE Series 100% Ad-Free! www.patreon.com/BrickImmortar And, starting this month, Early Access for Patrons is now AD-FREE Early Access to the Exclusive Patreon Version of each new video releasing. Here's the previous Collapse video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q3bKeJqhibRgmdk

[@sixstringedthing]

I'd also be very interested in seeing a video about the Westgate disaster. I'm a Sydneysider but have had family in Melbourne for as long as I've been alive. Been considering Magellan for a while via a couple of other channels. You've convinced me Sam, I signed up. This was an excellent and detailed analysis of something that I've already researched quite a bit, like many of your viewers. And they are all saying the same thing. Well done mate.

[@sixstringedthing]

@@JamesTK Good spot!

[@BrickImmortar]

@@JamesTK Thanks a bunch for catching that James, fixed it!

[@elledaniels3176]

Do you make that much more through Patreon than if you would allow the 27,000 with ad revenue?

[@rowanl5781]

Sir, thank you! I well recall this event from the news - I was 22. You really excellently explicate the concept of science as better properly practiced than witnessed these days.

[@catrinanewman6569]

My dad was a fireman on call at the time. They sent him in to go under the collapse to look for people. He said he barely had enough room to keep his head up. He said people were in pieces. He could only find arms & pieces. He was so traumatized for years afterwards. He would get panic attacks everytime he even got in a shower. He would wake up in his sleep with panic attacks, too.

[@maybewinter]

My dads a firefighter to in HPFD they really need to be getting paid more for what they do.❤

[@angelicadonelan9119]

Ιs he ok now 😢

[@stop08it]

It’s sad that he was not able to get help for his PTSD, it’s no joke to deal with

[@janetgood6332]

@@arribaficationwineho32 That's not what happened here, at all. The actual structural plan was changed without an engineer signing off on it. There were no substandard materials.

[@smokinreefer9336]

My grandma said that her dad had saw someone grab a hand and pull, only to see the arm wasn't attached to anyone

[@poopoopeepee780]

My grandpa was a concrete cutter when it collapsed. His company was called in to do emergency cutting on sections of the bridge to make them smaller due to big machines not being able to fit into the atrium. He told stories of cutting on sections of the bridge and all of the sudden the water from his saw would turn from gray to red, indicating he was cutting through someone underneath the concrete. I can't imagine living though something like that.

[@iamsherlocked345]

Ugh I can’t imagine how awful that would be .. probably something you never forget.

[@777jones]

I upvoted this because it is a remarkable story even though it is terribly sad.

[@GoatGodBaal]

thats horrifying to think about. lifetime of therapy for something like that. i hope he wasnt too traumatized

[@anonnymouz6826]

😯

[@Bird1964]

My heart breaks for your grandpa. I can't imagine how much that messed with his head afterward. I hope that despite his horrible experience he's doing well today.

[@Fangirl1327]

I used to work with structural engineers and this was the "gold standard" of screw ups. They used to tell me "when a doctor makes a mistake, ONE person could potentially die. When a structural engineer makes a mistake hundreds or even thousands of people may die." The quality SEs I worked with took their jobs very, VERY seriously

[@Bird1964]

That's the absolute truth.

[@jamesricker3997]

This failure is taught in engineering classes as a warning

[@markarzola6259]

My Dad was a firefighter when this happened. He was down there helping search for survivors and he said the same thing. He said there some of the people they were able to find all of them, but there were so many people that they only found pieces of. He said he'd never forgot that day hearing people screaming for someone to help them. My Dad and the other firefighters would call out to the people and try to find them. They would see a hand, foot, arm, or leg and think they found a person only to grab it and find out it was just a piece of a person. Said that was a hard thing to get through.

[@TheAutumnWind_RN4L]

Goodness.

[@esteemedmortal5917]

I’ve heard about this disaster several times but I think this was the first time where someone mentioned that even the unaltered design would have been problematic. Thanks!

[@JasonFlorida]

Exactly, in fact I just posted something similar. This video is superior to any other recollection! They even showed us what design they ended up with. They didn't leave any stoned unturned and I am very impressed and glad I watched this. I was afraid that it would be a rerun of something that I already seen but that was certainly not the case! Very nicely done in depth video!

[@pleasedontwatchthese9593]

It makes me thing about what things we have now that are not good but don't know about it

[@borysnijinski331]

This tragedy was presented in an Engineering Technical Conscience seminar put on by my employer…it did not mention that original design was flawed or the culture of fast track construction causing this failure and other roof collapses.

[@sarahnash276]

Yes I was thinking the same thing. This is the best fully comprehensive analysis I've seen on this disaster, thanks for putting it together!

[@janew2108]

All this channel’s videos have some exceptionally well researched points of interest.

[@Snake3yesEddie]

When you see the names of all the victims, it’s heartbreaking to see that majority of them are compiled of 2 people with the same surname. More than likely married couples or a parent & their child sharing a dance, just trying to enjoy life. RIP to every one of them & hopefully their loved ones, the survivors and the rescue workers all have got the right support to cope with the aftermath of this tragedy.

[@Beth-pf6oo]

I immediately noticed the name of an 11 -year- old girl and who I assume was her dad. Really heartbreaking.

[@adamjohnson2914]

@@Beth-pf6oo I watched a testimony of one of the survivors who got buried, he said he was next to a young girl who was still alive. They prayed together, and as the rescue went on, she went quiet.

[@seclusionworks7547]

Absolutely horrifying. I am speechless and can only say my condolences.😢🙏

[@jeffchoi]

The change in rigging setup of people pulling the truck is a great analogy.

[@TheDasHatti]

I heard another good one: Two people hanging on a rope. Then the lower one grabs the upper one instead of the rope

[@miked7212]

definitely true

[@thabg007]

yea, I was like, now I understand it better

[@kensmith5694]

@@TheDasHatti It seems to be a little worse that even that. It is like a 2nd person is also slightly weakening the upper person's grip too. The rod down to the lower walkway requires an additional hole in the lower face of the upper box beam.

[@TracyA123]

Yeah that was great!

[@Sashazur]

This was how I finally understood the error that led to the disaster: As designed: 2 people hanging onto a rope, one above the other. As built: 1 person hanging onto a rope, and a 2nd person hanging onto the first person’s legs.

[@alandulusia]

Both horrible

[@davidolatunji119]

Sounds like a bad design to me - presumably having two structures on the single rope was the problem

[@wallybal1297]

@@davidolatunji119 no, the rope was fine

[@ryanhodin5014]

​​@@davidolatunji119The rope was strong enough to hold two people (physically, that is, or perhaps we could say in theory - Not legally with proper safety margins that you definitely shouldn't cut). The first person was not.

[@marhawkman303]

@@ryanhodin5014 yeah it's a weird thing, on paper it looks like it "could" be made to work... but realistically..... It needs a lot more reinforcement than doing it the right way.

[@gravesclayton3604]

My late father was there a week before the collapse. He was a mechanical & design engineer with Reynolds Metals. He said the walkway felt unstable to him when walking across with even just a few other people on it. The construction error was well hidden, but when we saw the collapse on the TV news, he said exactly what the cause was before the news report was even done. He had seen similar short cuts in his career and said this was one example taught in engineering back in the 50's & 60's to NEVER do, and why not to do it.

[@louern123]

wow

[@ZFern9390]

I was raised in a family of carpenters and they told us kids to never trust balconies, decks or bridges and certainly don't hang out under or on them! You never know what idiot cut corners or whatnot!!

[@azurblueknights]

The thing that always gets me with these sorts of disasters is the fact that those who design and built such structures cut corners to save costs during construction, but then end up costing them unimaginable amounts of money in the future when the structure inevitably fails.

[@knightmare39]

Penny wise, pound foolish.

[@mrkipling2201]

That's something that these idiots will never learn. If they do a proper job in the first place, spending the right amount of money and using the proper materials and safe designs, then it won't cost them any extra money.

[@hildeschmid8400]

​@@knightmare39stumbling over dollars to pick up pennies. Same meaning, different wording.

[@jivepatrol6833]

I am an engineer with 40 years of experience (BSME & MSME). I stayed at this hotel back in 1998 on a business trip and remember walking around trying to see where the skywalks were and how it ever could have happened? Sadly, I felt the "energy" of the people that perished. The engineers involved were incompetent, did a haphazard job in their calculations and modeling and then failed to validate their designs with prototypes in the lab. I have had people in my career try to pressure me to "hood wink" test results and/or calculations - I have always said "NO WAY"! A real engineer has to always be ready to walk out, quit and be a whistleblower in these situations. The safety of the public is at stake.

[@lauren9004]

Exactly! Thank you so much!

[@jesss05]

Thank you

[@Seroxm13]

Well said. Lives over money/greedyness.

[@paulloveless4122]

I admire your courage while as an engineer you admit to "feeling" the energy of dead/wounded.

[@SoWhat-]

True man

[@bignat9]

I just saw photos of this and noticed just how much blood had amassed in the area surrounding the victims that it really shows how brutal this event was. So horrible.

[@n.rosehaley2772]

A lot of that blood is mixed in with the water from a busted pipe. The documentaries tell of survivors trying to keep their heads of to prevent drowning.

[@craigusselman546]

The video from the event is insanely haunting not just its low resolution and blurriness from age but those poor old couples having the time of their lives...its creepy.

[@shaylenwayne9284]

Looked it up and wanna vomit at the thought

[@planetdisco4821]

I’ve worked as a rigger and boilermaker In australia for about 35 years now. I’ve lost both friends and work colleagues due to poor structural engineering calculations and quite frankly, arrogance that we’d dare to question them. After all they went to college and we are just workers. What would we know? Quite a lot actually. I can tell from vast personal experience when something isn’t going to work, because I’m the bloke that has to actually do it. Without a doubt the greatest killers in construction, or post construction are hubris, cost cutting and design change. Great channel mate. I watch it all the time because it actually helps me stay alert on the job…

[@lundsweden]

What you're saying is true. Knowledge from experience is valid. I watched an interesting video on medieval Cathedrals. These were designed and built by workmen, without any engineers. In fact, no calculations were done back then at all. The builders knew from experience what was strong enough, and what would fail. They had simple but ingenious rule-of-thumb design and construction methods. Some of these structures have stood for 1000 years! The Pantheon in Rome has the largest unreinforced concrete dome roof in the world. It has stood for 2000 years, and not a single engineer was used!

[@merrywalsh2809]

Shout out to brains and muscle in one package.

[@polarbearsaysyummy5845]

A Hospital related analogy...A Great Nurse is always learning from Doctor's. A Great Doctor listens to Great Nurses.

[@ReverendV92]

Insult to injury, the current memorial also has several issues with typos and names being missing or otherwise incorrect. Not sure if they fixed it yet, but I remember reading about how the families' petitions to get it fixed went ignored for several years.

[@Been.Here.Since.2007]

They also stuck it in overland Park. A few miles south

[@bmckong]

Its not in OP. It’s in Hospital Hill Park at 22nd and Gillham. The entire thing was built based on donations. I know they were trying trying to raise money to fix the names a few years ago.

[@Been.Here.Since.2007]

@@bmckong Even still, it's not where it should be considering the tragic nature. Then again, a corporation cannot have that hanging around their neck. Moving on.

[@brit8802]

@@Been.Here.Since.2007 just more people not really giving a shit

[@davidolatunji119]

They were probably cutting costs…

[@randy7928]

You see all the 50 something couples who were lost, then you see the single 26 yr old lady who was lost and then you realize that some cocktail servers went to work that evening and never picked their kids up from the babysitter :( so tragic

[@katiec.877]

That was my exact thought when I saw the two young female names. And the little 11 year old girl who was likely out for a special “grown up” night of dancing with her daddy. 😢

[@dokkus]

hanging a walkway from a hanging walkway? brilliant. Safety first, y'all. Thanks for such engaging and informative videos, Brick. Doing a damn fine job.

[@abpsd73]

I'm sure it would have been fine if the design was properly engineered. Welding 2 channels together with no additional reinforcement at the load bearing points is just a failure waiting to happen. A person doesn't need to be an engineer or fabricator to see why the failure occurred.

[@triple7marc]

There’s nothing inherently wrong with that… it’s the way this was engineered that caused the collapse.

[@pmberry]

This disaster has been covered by many before you so I was looking for something new and I found it: you highlight the point that even if the walkways were built as originally designed they still wouldn't have been fit for purpose. Thank you for this new detail which I wasn't previously aware of despite being familiar with the history of the collapse.

[@raccoon874]

those puny rods could barely hold up a chandelier

[@Knirin]

Why is the original design considered unfit for purpose? Did it need a thicker support rod?

[@sixstringedthing]

@@Knirin Disclaimer: not a structural engineer, I'm an Electrician, but I've worked on plenty of commercial projects and talked to many builders, engineers and architects. According to other analyses of the failure, the design of the box beams supporting the walkways was poor, as was the method of attaching them to the rods. The box sections were fabricted by welding two c-channel extrusions face to face like so [ ] . Because there was only a single supporting rod at each end, the holes for the rods had to be drilled on center i.e. right through the top/bottom welds at each end. This is a dumb idea, because there's no redundancy if a rod or nut fails and it requires the welding to be of a consistently high standard or the box sections will buckle at the points where loads are concentrated, which is exactly what happened due to the stupid design change. I believe it was designed this way to allow many structural components to be easily fabricated on site as per the "accelerated construction" mantra that was mentioned in the video. So yeah... the whole concept was flawed from the start.

[@sixstringedthing]

@@somedumbozzie1539 Even if the rods were up to spec, having just a single one at each end is a dumbarse idea. :) Better design would be to use solid extruded I-beams with pairs of supporting rods running either side of the centre web at each end. Loads more redundancy, but less architecturally attractive. Pretty sure I remember reading something about the box beam design being preferred because it looked better. Cheers from another Dumb Ozzie.

[@Underestimated37]

Seconds from disaster touched on it but didn’t state it explicitly, but if you pay attention they do point it out

[@chadirby6216]

I studied this in an Emergency Administration and Planning course in college, back in about 1990. Then, in the early 2000s, I was working in KC at a big convention, and staying at a local hotel. When I was walking through the lobby of the hotel, there was something odd and deja-vu-ish about the place that I couldn't quite pin down... until I saw the memorial plaque. It's weird to study disasters of this sort for years, and realize that you're accidentally staying in a room at one of the most famous disaster sites in US history.

[@mungbean345]

I'm sure that was very disconcerting! I felt a similar chill when I first drove over the bridge that replaced the original that I frequently used before its destruction in a hurricane.

[@captaintoyota3171]

Yeah how bout our Carpenters union meeting in said hotel....

[@fauxpinkytoo]

The same thing happened to me! I had to fly to KC from Dallas for an orientation meeting, as I was starting a new job. I was booked into a nice hotel at Hallmark Crown Center... So, anyway, I went out that night to check out the entertainment district, and as I returned to the hotel lobby, it suddenly dawned on me where I was...and then I saw the plaque. I didn't sleep much that night, it just didn't seem respectful. It's a beautiful place, but with a very heavy vibe.

[@RichardFStripeRendezvous]

@@fauxpinkytoo Hah... Entertainment at night... In Kansas City?

[@Been.Here.Since.2007]

@@RichardFStripeRendezvous "Westport"

[@aemrt5745]

At a previous Engineering job, our staff was encouraged to give safety presentations. I chose this one to emphasize how one must be careful in checking designs throughout the process and take nothing for granted. Studying this was very sobering.

[@jeannetteashlin1725]

I remember hearing another documentary of what had happened. A young police officer went in and I think was doing what he was told to do. I think he heard someone pleading for help. He saw an arm sticking out and pulled on it. The person's entire arm came off. This young officer left right after this and never returned as a police officer. Sad that people out for a night of dancing died due to cost saving measures. It must have been super hard on first responders and not being able to help some people that were crushed that night.

[@mungbean345]

These stories are making me increasingly thankful that I recognized my mathematic limitations and didn't go into a field that required it to be applied to anything that would affect the safety of others! Also, I'm starting to think that genuine integrity is a quality that can actually save lives, and I wish there was more of it around.

[@alaneofmyown]

Love this comment

[@WorldwideWyatt]

I really appreciate you listing the names of the victims of these disasters. It’s a small thing, but it pays respect to those people and especially their families.

[@victoriageiger6267]

Agreed

[@mattskustomkreations]

I remember seeing this on the news as a kid. Made me afraid to go to into “modern” buildings for a little while. Our local mall had balcony/walkway spaces like this and it spooked me. Years later I had a coworker who lived in KC at that time. It’s true, everyone in town knew somebody affected by the tragedy if not directly personally. Even 15 years later I sensed her dread when she told me about the collapse.

[@SCIFIguy64]

There’s a theory in the city that development stagnated for a while because of this. The downtown area was essentially abandoned for a couple decades, it wasn’t until 2010 or so when the Sprint center brought some business back. The city is being developed rapidly now, and there are some really interesting buildings going up, but you can see evidence of projects planned for the 80’s and 90’s that just stopped. Even today, there are areas around crown center that seem empty.

[@mattskustomkreations]

@@SCIFIguy64 Very interesting, never knew that.

[@marjoriemorris5849]

I lived in Kansas City from 2011-2015 and although I knew of this disaster before I lived there, I never heard anyone in KC speak of it. I can totally understand why. As to the ghost-town vibe KC used to have, I can attest that in 2002 the downtown area was all but abandoned. Let’s just say, it left an impression on me that made me apprehensive about moving there nine years later. However, the city was back to thriving by 2011, and I was proud to call it home for four years. I love that city and the metro KC area.

[@dazuk1969]

This one made my blood run cold...all those people just out having a good time and gone in a blink of an eye. I don't know how the engineers/architects could live with themselves. Taking short cuts, cost cutting, and corruption doesn't get much worse than this.

[@colinwhitfield8627]

The 'rope team' analogy is so inspired. You do such a wonderful job of making these (technically) technical videos accessible to regular folks. Fascinating, dramatic, often times horrific, but never sensationalized. Love from Detroit.

[@SWIFTO_SCYTHE]

I also like that truck pulling rope Example really shows what was going on

[@j.d.contreras392]

This reminds me of when the Florida Condo "Champlaign Towers" collapsed, only that one happened due to severe water damage and no maintenance. The Hyatt had no real seal of approval and the morons just opened it without being inspected first. Anyone could see that the thing had NO support beams in the interior of the building. Whoever designed that building doesn't have a job anymore. These videos are very useful and informative. Thanks.

[@be5952]

Yes, that 'rope team' illustration was SO helpful. For people like me without a good ability to grasp mathematical / physics-type of concepts, these types of analogies make the explanations make sense.

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

This vid is the first time I learned that the _original design of the walkway supports_ -- which was NOT used -- was determined to be weaker than what it should have been.

[@BasementEngineer]

Hence coupling or sleeve nuts would not have been sufficient to save the structure.

[@flynnk472]

My dad's family was living in KC at the time and the emotional toll it had on the city and community was so heavy that many people wouldn't talk about it for years. My dad had friends who lost parents, or whose parents suffered traumatic injuries.

[@bmckong]

The toll is still part of our city.

[@marjoriemorris5849]

@@bmckong I never heard anyone talk about it while I lived there. I never asked, either, because it felt like an inappropriate subject to bring up.

[@tomhalla426]

Having done construction, I agree with the comment that the original design was quite difficult to build. It looks more like someone was being artistic as an architect than an engineer who expected real people to build it and use it.

[@andrewkelley9405]

That’s why I cannot stand people prioritizing looking pretty over actually being useful.

[@mehere8299]

@@andrewkelley9405 I’ve noticed that those who are most aggressively hostile to beauty tend to associate aesthetics with weakness, as if it's not possible for a building to be both structurally sound and visually pleasing.

[@LadyWhinesalot]

@@mehere8299 it is...but the problems begin when beauty overrides structural soundness

[@mjmooney6530]

FIU Pedestrian Bridge Collapse, Looks vs Sound Engineering.

[@goawayleavemealone2880]

But the original design wasn't the problem. The box beams were actually modified for both aesthetics and ease of construction, the box beams as they should have been constructed were actually more difficult to conceal - but would actually have been capable of supporting the loads placed upon them.

[@endruv_2287]

What I find to be most incredible about this disaster is how such a seemingly small area of space- just a simple walkway- could claim so many lives.

[@valariewillis6000]

I was 11 babysitting my brother & sister, while parents went to Hyatt. Was crazy- they are ok

[@bighairedmom]

It's always seemed so bizarre to me that they were there filming the Tea Dance, and the few minutes they're NOT filming, this happens.

[@katiec.877]

Was that footage from the day of the collapse or just footage of another day, since they were held regularly.

[@tat2edtarab]

My father was a police officer and was working security for the party that evening. He was not hurt but was part of the rescue efforts. I remember being scared and my family waiting to hear if he was ok. Finally dispatch called my mom to let her know he was ok. It was so scary.

[@captaintoyota3171]

Thank for covering this. As a K.C., Mo journeyman carpenter/piledriver i like us to never forget what negligence can cause. You think its wrong? Report it just because guy has a degree doesn't mean he knows all. Experience is best teacher. This story will never be forgotten in K.C. and every apprentice learns about why it failed

[@777jones]

I have degrees and work at a desk. There is no substitute for knowledge of what is happening on the ground. Experienced people know that. It’s the clowns who don’t.

[@HermannTheGreat]

Not an engineer but even I would think suspending an ultra heavy walkway from another hanging heavy walkway with bolts is not something safe.

[@robertthomson1587]

All so tragic - and preventable. I found the list of names of those who were killed very moving, with its inclusion of so many married couples who were at the dance for a lovely evening out.

[@richardw2566]

Every Engineer trained in the last 50 years has studied this collapse. A refresher and reminder is always welcome. This was a well done presentation. Thank you.

[@polarbearsaysyummy5845]

Um 41 years

[@FranNyan]

Always a touch surreal finding out about these things when it's a place I've been. On trips to see family in Tulsa, we stopped at the Crown a few times over the years, never having any idea what had happened before. If I'm remembering right, the head engineer went on to give traveling lectures about the importance of not repeating his mistakes and is a rare case of someone actually admitting fault. But as said, nothing happens in a vacuum and the overarching culture and pressure from above to do it faster and cheaper always need to be pointed out as being just as deserving of condemnation.

[@tracykimber729]

I just found out about this also. I taped there not knowing when I worked NASCAR. Oddly I had a creepy feeling staying on the high floors.

[@Aranimda]

I was reluctant to watch this because I already watched the excellent Seconds of Disaster coverage of this collapse, but I'm glad that I did watch your version as it has substantial additional details about the background and culture of how it came to be.

[@theshermantanker7043]

Fellow Seconds from Disaster watcher? Hell yeah!

[@ariahazelwood3842]

@@theshermantanker7043 me too! I've watched all the ones available on KZbin. They really were ahead of their time in quality

[@charlie1872]

I remember watching this on the tv and as a Structural Draughtsman I was deeply concerned that I would not make similar detail mistakes. It certainly brought a high level of awareness when we were working on projects

[@teesmith5301]

I was scrolling through KZbin minding my business. Came across your thumbnail , began watching started to learn interesting things. Read a few touching comments and boom I looked up and saw the names of the lives that was lost ..instantly crying. I feel so awful for all these beautiful souls.❤

[@fenleydorismond2889]

I dont know if you’re gonna see this but the example with the truck, rope and harnesses was a great way to portray the problem. At first I couldn’t exactly understand why the construction failed but then I saw the example.

[@ellenyager9577]

A dear childhood friend lost her grandfather to this collapse. She still mourns.

[@FoxDragon]

I work in construction and have dealt with threaded rod (AKA all thread) quite a bit. The comment about long fully threaded rod being prone to damage during install or transport is quite true actually, if they are referring to the threads themselves being damaged or crushed. The standard 10' lengths that we deal with can often have crushed or burred threads somewhere on the length that makes running a nut all the way along the rod difficult, if not impossible depending on the amount of damage. It's not generally a big deal since we tend to use much shorter lengths and usually only need a few inches at each end, so we can cut around the damaged area But if they needed to get specially made rods that were very long and needed to have clean threads all the way along them, I can see where damage to the threads during handling/construction could be a non-trivial concern. Ensuring that the rods were undamaged from manufacture to final install would have meant special packing, storing and handling of the rods, which would have added cost and delay, so "cost cutting and time saving" actually roll into that reasoning that the rods being more likely to be damaged would be an issue. Still a poor decision, but the reason isn't as questionable as you might think.

[@BrickImmortar]

Fully agreed, I've also worked with threaded rods in the past and burrs/chasing became quite the headache, frequently. What I find most questionable was the idea to use them in general, in either version. Like it seemed there was more weight behind the decision to simply move forward with them (in any capacity) than just Havens Steel pushing for a revision. As if by that point everything was receiving blind sign-off in a "just get it done" group-think atmosphere... when the design itself (in either revision) was questionable at best.

[@BasementEngineer]

Anyone who suggested threading the entire length of the rods, in order to get some nuts into the middle of the length, is an ignoramus or an idiot! Has it never occurred to anyone to join the rods with coupling or sleeve nuts, thus requiring threading on the ends of the rods only? I learned about such fasteners when I was 6 years old and playing with my TRIX set.

[@zacharysandberg]

This is the most underrated KZbin channel in existence. Extremely interesting, and great narration and pacing.

[@SniffyTugBoat]

I've lived in KC most of my life. thanks for giving this as much detail and effort as you did. in sixth grade, our IT teacher showed us a documentary on this collapse that's actually on here now. it talked to several of the survivors of the collapse, one of which being a man (who was a boy at the time) who remembered knowing his legs were bent wrong: one behind his head and the other up next to him. another man remembers talking to a young girl trapped under the rubble nearby until she stopped responding to his voice. my dad took me to this hotel when he had to run IT on a doll convention. he told me about how the collapse was even big news in Oklahoma and how it was important KC history to know. you can feel a certain calm if you stand in the lobby long enough, even during Christmas when it's Crown Center's busiest season. I try not to think about it when crossing the sky bridge from Union Station over to the hotel.

[@helenhebert7127]

This is one of the first building failures I worked on. I was a fresh graduate working at my first job at a company that specialized in erection procedure. My boss was called in to consult. It was quite the education. We also produced structural steel shop drawings and this failure terrified me.

[@765kvline]

I remember the night this happened. ABC News was first on the scene because the cameras of KMBC-9 affiliate happened to be covering the Tea Dance because a member of KMBC staff was involved in the event. When this happened, everyone was stunned and the cameras were at the event trumping every other station in KCMO. Nightline covered the event continuing into the evening.

[@Mike1614b]

it continues to this day- The 2018 FIU bridge collapse in Miami FL shares a common thread: a large elevated structure which is of course massive, that appears to be minimally but artfully supported or suspended. there lies the danger, both in its design and its construction

[@yvellebradley2502]

2018 had a massive fail of a bridge in Italy, where the cement part collapsed, after being compromised by material cutbacks and lack of regular inspections. Many injured and died. Lack of inspections also led to deaths in Montreal, Canada, from a collapsed bridge in about 2014. Greed abounds.

[@B4NDllKOOT_]

That’s why being under a bridge can be very anxious for me

[@Tina06019]

We were living in Lawrence, Kansas, at the time this happened. Will never forget it.

[@johnnyv1982]

I work at the hospital that recieved the victims of this disaster . Some of the nurses who were here that day tell some crazy stories

[@JasonFlorida]

I have seen this story before somewhere else and was hesitant to watch this video. However, I am sure glad I did watch this as this was by far a much more in depth story that included all the nuts and bolts (literally) and also much more video, recollections, history, and outcome. You even included the design they ended up with. Very excellent job! Such a sad story that deserves to be told as fully and respectful as you accomplished. This should be a requirement to watch this video for any future engineers in school. I am not an engineer but I am a designer and its important to design and especially engineer things properly so a similar disaster never happens again. Thank you again for your excellent work!

[@JasonFlorida]

Please don't ever hesitate to use your amazing skills and outdo even wildly publicized events as you have proved to have the ability to blow the doors off any other KZbin channel!

[@californiahiker9616]

I agree with you. I’ve also watched videos about this occurrence several times on other channels. This is by far the best analysis I’ve watched. I’m not in any way connected with building and design. I am just interested in how puzzles get solved, what was learned, and how things were changed in response to this disaster. I was able to follow this just fine without any particular knowledge of engineering. Thank you, all who worked on this video, excellently done! My heart goes out to the victims and their families, as well as to the first responders involved in this tragedy! Most of all, I hope that students of engineering and design are watching this - so the rest of us may stay safe in any structures!

[@sportsnstuff5557]

This one is very and depth and very well done. I also watch fascinating horror so I knew about this one, but i enjoyed seeing even more in depth

[@rawhides]

This is taught in every engineering school brah. It’s standard to include this within the ethics courses required for every civil engineer, and that ethics education is required by ABET if a school wants their accreditation.

[@Cornish_Co]

Same.

[@annarowden9457]

My mom was there for forist convention. She walk over the walkway many times during her stay there. She just finished getting a drink from under the walkway making her way back to the convention center. As she tell the story, she said it sounded like a large ball doing down some steps. There was screams and then all of a sudden it was dead silence. When I got the call from my dad saying your mom is OK, all my dad said there was a hotel collapsed were your mom at. I thought it was an older hotel, because she was staying in a newer hotel. She also stayed at the same one in Atlanta that built the same way. Kansas City went into action right a way. Red Cross, Salvation Army and emergency services were there in minutes. I always donate money to Red Cross and Salvation Army since this happened. That day someone was watching over my mom, if she was just a couple minutes later the outcome would have been different.

[@rebeccasimmons9384]

Did the hotel in Atlanta have the same walkways and also get remodeled?

[@KristiBranstetter]

I was 17 when the collapse at the Hyatt Regency happened. I remember when the news broke that it happened. It was horrible. I volunteered at the local children's hospital where six of the injured and was at the hospital the next day volunteering and remember some of those injured.

[@DurieHumberJrDC]

I stayed in that hotel about 10 months before this tragic event took place. I was only 11 years old at the time but fondly remember how impressive this atrium area was. RIP to the souls of those taken too soon

[@avatarmikephantom153]

I’ve toured this lobby on my own time. Haunting to think how many people died and it doesn’t feel like it.

[@777jones]

Society invested too much in the building to condemn such a new building. It had to be repaired and put back into use.

[@JasonBrockStick]

Hard for me to find the right words… but I’ll try - this is by far, the best presentation of this horrifying incident. Respectful and highly informative (as per usual). I’ve watched it several times already and still digesting this “preventable” tragedy. Thank you for all the hard work you put into each episode - as a previous comment mentioned the analogy and diagram of pulling the truck nailed it.

[@nathangraham8162]

This was required reading during my engineering bachelor degree

[@danpatterson8009]

These stories seem to fall into either of two basic categories. One is where a competent design is thwarted by cheap construction, ad-hoc changes, overloading, poor maintenance, or some combination of those. The other is a design that could not even perform its intended function and should never have made it to construction.

[@KathrynsWorldWildfireTracking]

I used to think the cause of the vast majority of disasters were _accidents._ Now I know it's mostly "setup to fail with no possibility of success."

[@765kvline]

Vajont Dam, St. Francis Dam and Teton Dam disasters are perfect parallels to this disaster. They give perfect correlation to your "There are two possibilities. . . " catagories. --And let's not forget several bridge disasters where the "faster" and "cheaper" versions were sold to the lenders and the prospective owners of these creations. Sadly, a number of disasters should have taught future professional architects, engineers and engineering geologists some lessons, but . . . didn't. This is why engineering ethics and engineering history should be taught in higher education. We learn so much from catastrophic incidents but if new engineers don't know about their technical history, these same glaring defects of ignorance are perpetuated time and time again.

[@rebelrog2870]

My baseball coach was one of the iron workers that built the catwalks. He claimed they told them when they built the catwalks they wouldn't hold and no one listened.

[@ripwednesdayadams]

It only takes a couple decades for people to forget the tragedies of the past. I am baffled when I see people claiming that we need more deregulation. Companies have repeatedly proven that money is more important than people’s lives. They cannot be trusted not to cut corners and under prioritize safety. Just look at the FIU pedestrian bridge collapse.

[@andrewdavidson7656]

I’m not an engineer, but even I could tell that the supports for the walkway were inadequate. By changing the design, they doubled the weight on the top walkway and used box beams that were not designed to be used that way.

[@andrewkelley9405]

I’ve seen many videos on this. Yours is the best one from an engineering perspective.

[@M1911jln]

I was an undergraduate civil engineer when this failure happened. We were all shocked at the incompetence of this failure.

[@gorp3549]

One name I'd like to point out is Roger Grigsby, age 38 of Kansas City. He was there that night with his partner Frank Freeman. Frank survived, though severely injured.

[@katiec.877]

As I looked at that list I wondered how many of the solo names were there with a loved one who either survived or with whom they didn’t share a surname. 😢

[@BassuleleMusic]

I’m from KC, I stay at the Sheraton for gigs all the time. This is the second video I’ve seen in the last two days about this, and I had no idea it had happened at all. The lobby is gorgeous, I even commented on the current existing walkway, it’s wild how tragedy can happen in a space and a community comes together to fix it so well it’s like a standing memorial. ♥️ The construction crews all coming out with their equipment is so Kansas City. Biased but I’ve been all over and there’s not quite a genuinely kind folk like you can find in KC.

[@smokinreefer9336]

My great grandfather on my mother's side, Patrick Kline, was on scene. He was in the KCPD. Interesting enough, my great grandfather on my father's side helped with the construction and was devastated after the accident. He had known the design was flawed

[@susanowen1709]

I first learned of this incident on another KZbin channel, however it was unclear to me exactly how the walkways were hung. Your cross-section view showing the weight distribution really helped me to understand, so thank you for including it, as well as the info that even the original design would have been insufficient. The other video I saw failed to mention that; perhaps the creator didn't have that information.

[@JoeyCarb]

Ive taken some sort of engineering/construction ethics at three different universities. In each course, the day one lesson was on the Hyatt skyway collapse. This incident changed everything about the industry.

[@truefilm6991]

Great video with excellent analogy! I am no engineer, but so many times I look at collapsed structures and it is obvious even to the non-expert that the construction is flimsy and that in this case an architect wanted to be "bold" and "modern", once again. One of the big problems, IMHO, is that there is no reliable way of making sure that an engineer is both unbiased and has very strong ethics, knowing that human lives depend on his work. And of course there should be no way of working around the approval of the engineer. But this is a dream world where things are like they should be.

[@mjmooney6530]

There is a way, but it is often eliminated due to cost and schedule pressures as well as false perceptions. Faster and Cheaper are almost always prioritized over Better and history repeats. The safety, reliability, quality, and independent analyses to prove it is safe enough are often times the first cost-cutting measure because everything has been going great for years. Well, these people are the reason why there has been much past success - they caught the errors before they lead to catastrophic loss.

[@truefilm6991]

@@mjmooney6530 Absolutely. We don't know about the many people that make sure things are running smoothly and safely, including as we speak. It's the greedy ones without ethics we hear about, after their plans of "It'll be fine" went horribly wrong. And that's not only the case with structures: so called progress is almost always about cheaper, faster and more convenient. On top of this it is advertised as being cool, edgy and trendy. VERY rarely, if ever, is progress about being better. It eventually will get better, but only after being glaringly obvious that it wasn't. Examples: the transistor made to replace the vaccum tube; LCD displays made to replace the TV tube, the CD to replace vinyl, digital sensors to replace film,......

[@mjmooney6530]

@@truefilm6991 I am a Safety and Reliably Engineer for highly hazardous one-of-a-kind systems. It’s pretty much 79% Human Error and 21% Component Failure. Luckily, those specific advances do not result in a catastrophic loss if they happen to fail. The electricity and laser on the other hand…

[@truefilm6991]

@@mjmooney6530 thanks for sharing the information. I know that sometimes the behavior of material is simply unpredictable, because it is impossible to study all scenarios beforehand. As they say: safety regulations are written in blood. We humans for example had to find out the hard way that square windows in airplanes at high altitudes will lead to structural failure. My deepest admiration to engineers who do everything humanly possible to make sure the highest safety standards are guaranteed.

[@Travis-xs2dr]

The heavy crane was supplied by the C.S.Eihinger company. They were a demolition company and a development company in Kansas City. Cid Eihinger was called at home to see if he had any heavy equipment near by, and he did. The backhoe that knocked out the glass front was also supplied by Cid, as well as the operators. Cid did all this for free. I worked for Cid and thought highly of him. I worked there in the late 90s and there were three guys that were there that night. None were able to talk about it. I was fortunate to have worked with J.W.Pickens while I was there. Sometimes we judge the book by it's cover, I sure did and I was so wrong. I'm sure that J.W. has passed away by now. I miss you sir and sure would have liked to shake your hand just one more time. You were one of those might fine lessons in life for me that I have cherished all the years. Thank you!

[@LoneWanderer013]

Some of the first people to arrive to start rescuing the victims and clear debris were nearby construction workers using their equipment. Even though this was a horrible tragedy, it's still good to see others rush in to save their fellow people.

[@nobody8328]

I can't wait for there to be enough public information for you to do a similar explanation of the Champlain tower collapse! Your explanation was thorough, but basic enough that even I could understand! Thanks! 💖

[@WholesomeJenn]

I'm an extremely Empathetic person, and also suffer from PTSD. In my mind, I imagined what those rescue workers, and helpers saw as they were trying to rescue people. The fact that ptsd wasn't diagnosed, or understood at the time is heartbreaking, and I can see how so many people involved in the rescue would witness someone screaming in pain under the collapsed portion, only for those pained screams to slowly fade, and go silent as they died. The guilt, and self-blame, and non forgiveness of themselves in the people's minds that attempted rescue must have torn them apart. My heart goes out to them.

[@theoraolson6795]

Thank you! I cried a bit. I got mad a lot! The Lives wasted because of MONEY and GREED (as usual). I learned from this as I hope others have too.

[@jmiller297]

And the ones responsible received *no jail/prison time!* Disgusting...

[@lindaelliott1653]

A friend and I were actually going to the Hyatt that night and planned to be on the 2nd floor walkway to overlook the dancers below. But we were running 30 minutes behind. I feel profoundly sad for those that lost their lives, but very blessed to still be here.

[@katesicle]

I love your clear explanations and diagrams! The comparison to pulling the truck was a perfect illustration.

[@AkitaSyn]

I’ve seen so many documentaries on this topic but if Brick Immortar makes a video, i am watching that video.

[@jonathan53356]

I worked at a building built in 1983. It had similar walkways. The major difference was that each walkway was connected individually to the ceiling. Also, there were 2 connections about a foot apart at each 9 foot joint. The connections were a threaded eye attached to the walkway with a massive crown nut and cotterpin. Structurally, what was done was overkill. However, I'm happy for it. Their was no way those walkways were ever going to collapse.

[@bmckong]

I’ve lived in Kansas City all my life. This tragedy is part of the fabric of our hometown. Thank you for your tasteful telling of the story and including their names.

[@SeanPat1001]

Thank you for this well prepared and presented report. I use this event in a course I teach on industrial safety. Back when we were still teaching in classrooms, I used a video which presented the events, but had much too much detail about the human toll. When I use this video I would always watch the class, and when they started getting uncomfortable, I would stop. Now that we’re doing things over the Internet, I can’t monitor the class so I don’t use that video. I feel you did a good job of summarizing the cost without going to the point that they would become unsettled. One thing I use in my presentation is a photograph of one of the suspension assemblies on the third floor walkway. This is essentially the original design and by casual observation it’s clear that that joint was also near failure. I feel the most disturbing thing about this example is the extent to which existing policies and procedures were ignored multiple times throughout the project.

[@Lateralus03]

The rescue efforts that evening were "comparable to the carnage of the Vietnam War but in greater numbers" according to the Life Line helicopter pilot on scene. First responders had to dismember limbs of the dead to reach survivors. A surgeon spent 20 minutes amputating a survivor's pinned leg with a chainsaw, whom later died of their injuries. The dead or mortally wounded were moved to a ground-level exhibition area which was used as a makeshift morgue. The driveway and lawn areas were used as a triage. Blood centers had literally hundreds of donors lining up to help, and all industrial equipment supply companies basically told first responders "take what you want". There was not a single bill or invoice given.

[@saxmanb777]

I stay at this hotel a lot to this day. Pretty eerie feeling when you walk around the lobby. I thought there was a memorial plaque, but I couldn’t find one last time I was there.

[@cliftonsargent1572]

I love this channel, kinda has a disparaging nexpo vibe with a touch of gruesome Mr.Ballen horror to it but educational at the same time. You really made a unique channel that’s all you. I can’t believe I just found you???

[@kaydwessie296]

I learned about this because Kansas City's anime convention I went to every year as a teenager was in this hotel. It's so interesting to have all this context now

[@lovintexas2730]

I lived on South Crysler Ave in Independence, MO, which is quite a way from Crown Center, when this happened. But I listened to ambulances all night going down Crysler.

[@MartinAston00]

It’s insane how many qualified people looked at that design and thought “ok looks good👍” Absolutely pathetic 🤦‍♂️

[@JCB884]

One of those moments in history that forever changed engineering and construction standards. A sad one. But whenever people get mad at me for how long it takes for a bridge replacement, I can just point to a video like this and explain to them how much review, qa/qc, etc needs to be done to ensure its proper design and construction to result in a safe product. Sad that we have to learn from stuff like this though

[@djinn666]

One option is to simply overbuild it. Those Roman structures are still standing because they didn't know how to calculate a safety factor, so they erred very far in the safe direction. If the original design had a safety factor of 3 or 4 instead of 0.6, even the late change would not have been a problem. An additional piece of reinforcing steel plate or extra large washer where the bolt contacted the beam would have prevented the weld seams from breaking.

[@keamu8580]

I did want to mention that all-thread rod is troublesome to produce and handle. The entire length of the rod is covered in fragile threads and the rod is more sensitive to (and prone to) bending than unthreaded rod. If you damage the thread in 1 spot near the ends where damage is easiest to cause, then you can sometimes no longer thread a bolt onto the rod properly. In applications like these you only really want the last 12-24 inches of rod threaded for adjustment and tensioning, and you're not likely to tension that much anyway. The unthreaded parts of the rod ARE stronger than the threaded parts. Setting up the tooling to cut threads on the rod and loading the rod into your machine is the bulk of the effort\cost, whether you thread part of the rod or all of it is not as big of a deal (though you will go through cutters faster, you can really beat the cutters up if all you're doing is rough cutting threaded rods) as the added hassle of handling and using all-thread rod without damaging it.

[@kensmith5694]

It is more than a little odd that they didn't seem to have a U shape doubling the thickness at the point where the mounting holes went through. On a box beam, the strength is in the walls that are vertical. You need to provide for transferring the load to them from the mounting holes out to the sides.

[@abpsd73]

I agree. I'm not an engineer, but at minimum I would have expected something like a thick doubler plate to be welded across the bottom at the rod locations to reinforce the rather thin bottom member and help transfer the weight to the vertical members. Relying on two c-channels sandwiched together seems like a bad design idea for vertical loading. Even an I-beam with a robust bracket designed to secure to the rod would have been a better idea, the structure was concealed at completion, so the proverbial nuts and bolts of the structure wouldn't be seen anyway.

[@PanduPoluan]

Seeing the pairs of last names, sent me down to deep sorrow... so many people losing their parents in that fateful day...

[@jmm2000]

Can you imagine if the camera man hadn't switched video tapes at the exact moment of the collapse, he would've captured the entire structure falling onto the crowd.

[@MeadeSkeltonMusic]

If it happened today it would be all over social media

[@michaelcivitella9119]

He was getting a fresh set of batteries at the time.

[@jamesfahey4508]

Having seen another doco on this some years ago, Seconds from Disaster, I think, one survivor sticks in my memory. He was trapped for a considerable period of time with his legs folded back so far his heels were on his shoulders.

[@playbook008]

I was 15 when this disaster was headline news. So sad of the lives lost by a design error.

[@Basedpilledandtradmaxxed]

What's absolutely crazy to me after finding this channel, is how NONE of these are taught in schools, not even mentioned in passing. I get learning about the basis of science and history but that is all it should be, the basics. But we never talked about disasters, oversight, complacency, corruption, etc costing people and material losses and the culture of safety we all take for granted now

[@PrayWorkPlay]

You need to stop posting these videos because I can't stop watching them! They are so informative and I learn so much more from watching what you have done than from other channels. I greatly appreciate all your thorough and hard work.

[@fretsward2225]

Richard V. DeKruyff, an assistant pricipal at Southeast Junior High lost his life that day. He was a WWII veteran and loved big bands. He was a great man...

[@Shadowmew55]

One of the most fascinating yet devastating tragedies I've ever heard. Been excited for your take on it ever since I watched Fascinating Horror's video!

[@wootle]

This just makes you think how much trust you put WITHOUT EVEN THINKING ABOUT IT when you enter a mall/stadium/airport etc. All the stress analysis, load analysis, math and physics MUST be on point or people die. Unimaginable what those responders must have seen I dearly hope they got the (FREE) help they need for a lifetime. This is up there with what soldiers must see in warzones.

[@jimijamesnoob685]

This channel is about to get big quick! Great details and to the point.